High School Never Ends
by pucklovessbrina23
Summary: Aang is beginning his freshman year of high school and has no idea how to handle crushes, school, and drama. Maybe with some help from his friends, it will all work out. Kataang, Tokka, Maiko, Tyzula
1. First Day

High School. Either the greatest or worst time of your life.  
And Aang had no idea which would happen to him.  
Aang's friend Sokka told him that freshman year was nowhere near as bad as its made out to be, but Sokka was a junior and had probably forgotten how scaring the beginning of high school could be. As Aang weaved through a crowded hall someone grabbed his arm.  
"Hey kid, can you point me towards D206? Kinda blind, here," the girl asked, gripping Aang's arm way too hard. He shook her off and rubbed at the spot she had been holding.  
"Uhh, I'm a freshman so I don't really know much more than you," Aang paused, a confused expression crossing his face, "If you're blind, shouldn't you have a cane or-" She cut him off with a boisterous laugh.  
"Canes are for old geezers. I'm Toph, by the way," she stated, fumbling around for Aang's hand, eventually finding it and giving it a firm shake.  
"Aang," he responded, "I'm gonna meet up with my friends and get directions to my first period if you want to come with me." Toph agreed to follow along and soon they found Sokka and Katara.  
Sokka and Katara had lived next door to Aang for close to five years and they had always been very close with him. Sokka had kind of been an old brother to Aang and was overjoyed finally have him at high school. Aang's relationship with Katara was a bit more complex than that. The moment he had seen the girl he had fallen head over heels for her. But the older teen was oblivious.  
"Hey Aang. Who's the chick?" Sokka asked, pointing finger into Toph's face. Toph felt the invasion of her personal space and shoved it away.  
"I'm Toph. And don't call girls chicks, it's skeezy," the ebony haired girl spat. Shock crossed Sokka's face and as he tried to start at a come back, Katara shoved him back with an eye roll and a smirk.  
"I'm Katara and this skeeze is my brother, Sokka. Are you a freshman like Aang?" said Katara in the nurturing tone she always used on those younger than her.  
Toph nodded and demanded, "Yeah. Can you tell us where D206 is now?" Katara almost chuckled at the freshman's abrupt attitude but restrained herself.  
"Um yeah, just take a left turn at end of this hall," she looked at Toph's eyes again, observing them to look almost glazed over, "Aang's class is right next to yours. Why don't you let him take you there?" Toph huffed at Katara volunteering Aang as her seeing eye dog and began to drag him down to hall. As she did, Aang was able to sneak one last look back at his crush, and Katara gave him her beautiful, calming, loving smile and a wave.  
Aang was sure that even freshman year could be conquered with Katara at his side.

Aang smiled as Toph joked with the rest of his friends. He was happy the girl had decided to sit with his group at lunch and genuinely taking quite a liking to the girl. As the laughter died down, Katara chimed in to the conversation.  
"So where's Suki?" she asked Sokka. The most delighted smile crossed his face.  
"She's got a little cold. I'm gonna bring her some of Sokka's Extreme Chicken Noodle after school," he explained with pride, an arrogant expression appearing on his face.  
"Who's Suki?" asked Toph. Sokka leaned towards the blind girl with a smirk.  
"My girl," he eased out. Aang swore he saw an angry and disappointed grimace pass across Toph's face but it was gone as soon as it came. Toph and Sokka launched it some conversation about some sport and Katara turned her attentions to Aang.  
"Tell me more about you first day!" she enthused, placing her hand over Aang's. She had touched his hand a million times over the years, but it never ceased to make the younger teen's heart skip a beat and his cheeks flush.  
"It's alright. My history teacher's a bit of jerk. Mr. Jeong or something. He already gave me like 50 pages of homework and lectured at me for half the class just cause I was doodling," Aang sighed out, trying to focus on Katara's hand on his and not the annoyances of the day. The tan girl bit her lip as she thought of another topic.  
"What about philosophy? I know you were really excited about that," Katara suggested. "Oh that was fun. Mr. Iroh is really laid back, but he speaks in metaphors so I only get about half of what he says," Aang answered, making Katara laugh as he impersonated the teacher, saying 'the horse is not far from water as long as it forgets the sun' and other things like that. The conversation was halted when a dark haired, sleek boy from Sokka's year stopped at the table.  
"Hey blue-eyes," he teased. Katara smiled, despite her best efforts to fight it. Aang now fully understood the look of anger that Toph had after learning about Sokka.  
"H-hi Jet," she stammered, averting her eyes, "This is my friend Aang. He's a freshman." Jet shot a quick glance and a half smirk at Aang, nodded to the boy, and brought his stare right back to the lovely sophomore on the other side of the table.  
"You gonna come to rally with on Friday?" he inquired, pushing his hair back to showcase his hazel eyes that could make any one swoon with one look.  
"Maybe," she over extended the word, keeping her eyes looked on him, "I'll let you know."  
"You better let me know soon. I think Azula is wants to go with me too," Jet stated, looking over to the bitchy girl in question, sitting with her volley ball team and Ty Lee, the cheer captain. He winked and blew her a kiss. She snarled and turned back to Ty Lee. Katara burst into giggles. Jet waved goodbye to her and swaggered. Aang sighed in relief once he was gone and out of sight.  
"Is his name really Jet?" he grumbled. Katara barely picked up on the annoyance in his tone.  
"I think his real name is like Jeremy or Jacob, but how cool is that everyone calls him Jet?" Katara continued on with talk of the older boy and Aang tried his best to not check out or vomit.  
Maybe freshman year would truly suck.


	2. Camping Trip

"45. The answer's 45," the Algebra TA, Zuko muttered. Aang and Toph had been puzzling over a problem for almost a half hour now and the lanky senior must have noticed. They could have asked their teacher, but Mr. Ozai was much too scary to do that.

"Zuko! No helping the students!" hollered Mr. Ozai. Zuko raised his hands up as if in surrender. It had come to Aang's knowledge that his math teacher was Zuko's father, though they sure didn't act like it. Aang flashed a smile to Zuko for helping him and Toph and he grinned back. Aang was slightly nervous about befriending Zuko because he was well aware that he used to bully Katara in elementary school. Sokka and Aang thought that the girl should just move on, but Aang realized things like that could be damaging at a young age. The class bell rang and everyone hurried off to lunch.

* * *

"So we really can't hang out with Zuko cause Princess got her feelings hurt one time?" Toph whined, angrily shoving her tray down the lunch line. Aang didn't appreciate Toph's nicknames for Katara but accepted that the intense freshman was just the type to treat her friends like that.

"Well, Zuko was really mean to her back then. And if he apologizes I'm sure she'll come around," Aang explained, a hopeless try at softening Toph's annoyance. The girl was too stubborn to listen to anyone else's words. She grunted, paid for lunch, and headed off to the table. Aang sighed at her actions and followed behind her. Aang saw the frown that crossed Toph's face as she heard Suki's laugh. Through careful observation of the past two weeks-and really it didn't take much observation to realize it-he had noticed that the aggressive teen had it bad for Sokka. Aang had sympathy for Toph. He knew how much unrequited love sucked. As if her ears were burning, Katara plopped herself down at the table. She had an almost dumb looking grin on her face. She stared at Sokka expectantly. He was unaware, too caught up on playing with Suki's hair.

"Sokka!" Katara shouted, disgruntled with him not paying attention, "Did you tell them?" Sokka looked confused for a second before he remembered what his sister was bringing up.

"Oh, Oh! Yeah! Hey guys, we are gonna go camping this weekend cause it's Katara's 15th birthday and," as Sokka spoke, Katara got more and more excited. She cut in.

"My dad is letting us go alone!" she practically squealed. Aang was excited by the promise of adult-free time. Although it was unlikely, he had a picture in his mind of him and Katara sneaking off to a tent and . . . Well . . . Doing what every teenage boy thought about. But Aang felt permanently stuck in the 'oh-he's-like-my-little-brother' zone. His thoughts moved from his feelings towards Katara to Katara's feelings towards Zuko. An idea popped into his head.

"Hey, I uh, know this guy in my Algebra class and he's really cool. Can I invite him to camping?" Aang asked, being careful not to mention a name.

"Yeah, sure. Do I know him?" Katara responded. Aang pulled on his beanie nervously, wishing to avoid Katara's anger.

"Yeah. It's ... Uh...Zuko," he fumbled out. The table froze. Katara's effervescent smile dropped, replaced immediately by a hateful grimace.

"Zuko? Zuko is not a cool guy, Aang. I'm not going to have him at my fucking birthday!" Katara spewed, uncharacteristically cursing and shocking her friends. She had sprung up from her seat and her hands were fists slammed on the table. Sokka put a hand on her shoulder, urging her to sit down and relax. Katara sighed, regaining her composure and settling back down.

"Sorry. I just don't think _he_," the word he left her mouth like it was poison, "should come." Toph pouted and put her attention on her food. Sokka and Suki tried to return to their flirting but were shaken. And Aang was just simply disappointed.

As lunch finished, the tension in Aang's group stayed stagnant in the air. Katara left quickly as the bell rang and Aang decided to take the opportunity to talk to Zuko. He found the older teen outside the cafeteria with a smirk on his face as he talked on his phone.

"I'm sorry your roommate tried to ask you to hang out, Mai. What a bitch. I gotta go, though, the bell rang," the dark brunette murmured into the phone before whispering something too quiet for Aang to hear and hanging up. He looked up and gave a small wave to the freshman.

"Hey Zuko, you know Katara, right?" pondered Aang. Zuko's face filled with guilt and embarrassment and he cast his eyes to the ground.

"Uh, yeah. If this is about elementary school stuff, I-" Zuko rambled out quickly. Aang shook his head.

"No, no! Actually, it's Katara's birthday this weekend and she said she'd love if I'd invite you to this camping trip she's having," he lied, smiling to overcompensate. Zuko appeared doubtful but seemed to accept it.

"Oh, okay I guess. You sure she wants me there?" he questioned, unsure. Aang bobbed his head up and down.

"Yeah, totally. I'll text you the details later. Okay, bye!" he rushed, leaving before the sulky senior could ask anymore.

* * *

Sokka, Katara, Suki, and Aang arrived promptly at Toph's house at 8 am, and the girl in question was quite grumbly about having to be up this early on a Saturday morning. She wedged herself in between Katara and Aang and chugged away at her coffee. Sokka had a look of intense anxiety on his face. He had his license but was technically not supposed to drive other minors in the car yet. Before he began to drive, Sokka turned his body to the backseat of the car.

"Alright, I don't wanna get pulled over, so no funny business back there, okay?" he paused, waiting for nods, and gave them a stern look, "No yelling. No loud music. And no fighting amongst each other." Suki laughed from the front seat.

"Calm down, General Sokka," she said, playfully hitting his shoulder. Sokka sighed, eyed down all of the backseat group, and began driving. The hour and half drive was managed with only one anxiety attack on Sokka's part.

Once to the camp site, the tents had to be pitched and sleeping arrangements had to be decided upon.

"I call Suki!" shouted Sokka, slinging his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders and kissing all over her cheek. Suki blushed and gave the funny boy a light kiss on the lips.

"Are you guys kissing?" asked Toph with disgust in her tone, as if sensing the mushy gushy atmosphere.

"Yeah," answered Sokka with a big grin. Toph rolled her eyes.

"Gross," she groaned, sticking her tongue out, "Anyways, I want my own tent. I feel like all of you snore and I'm not gonna deal with emthat/em all night." Toph crossed her arms defiantly and Sokka seemed positively defeated.

"But you were supposed to stay with Katara! If you don't where is Aang gonna go? I guess Aang could just stay with me and Suki could go with Katara. . ." Sokka whimpered, his bottom lip threatening to quiver. Katara stepped up, not wanting to deal with a pouty brother all weekend.

"Me and Aang will just share a tent. Its fine, right Aang?" she proposed, sending a hopeful look in Aang's direction. Aang's mind buzzed with the possibilities. This scene seemed to be pulled directly from his fantasies, spending the night with the girl of his dreams. But his nerves still buzzed with fear. Knowing him, he'd probably mess it all up.

Ignoring the back and forth in his head, Aang sped out, "Yeah, of course."

* * *

Zuko yanked and pulled at his hair, trying to get it to sit right. Frustrated, he left the bathroom and checked once again that he had everything he needed. Zuko felt like a ball of anxiety. Although Aang had said that Katara had moved on from what had happened in elementary school, Zuko felt like that wasn't entirely true. He admitted that he had nearly tortured the tan skinned girl when they were younger. He would certainly never forgive himself. He shook away the thoughts and gathered all his stuff.

"Azula, I'm going to go hang out with. . . friends. I'll be back tomorrow morning," Zuko told his sister through his door.

"Alright, be back by one because _mother_ is picking us up then," responded Azula, disdain dripping her diction when bringing up her mother. Zuko ignored her tone and headed out.

* * *

Azula finished up braiding Ty Lee's hair and tied it with a crimson ribbon.

"You look magnificent," the vicious girl stated. Ty Lee turned to her with a wide grin, wrapping her arms around the other girl's neck and pulling her into a hug.

"Thank you, Azula! I love it," the cheerleader stated. The girls locked eyes and Azula let her stare wander to Ty Lee's lips. They kissed, Azula bringing the other girl close to her. Ty Lee pulled away, an apprehensive look on her face as she bit her lip.

"Hey, I was thinking something," she said, looking at Azula's intense expression and losing her gumption, "Actually, never mind. It was dumb anyways." Azula rolled her eyes and grabbed her girlfriend's hand.

"C'mon. Out with it now," she prodded. Ty Lee sighed.

"I think we should tell everyone we're dating," she proposed and Azula frowned, "or-or at least Zuko and Mai." The tougher teen groaned.

"We can't. That just won't work. My status at school would be completely damaged and I might even lose the race for class president. And Zuko would tell father or his friends or something," Azula explained. Ty Lee huffed and pouted. Azula softened slightly and grabbed the athletic girl, holding her close to her chest.

"I'm sorry. I know you want to be out. I just can't," she said. Ty Lee didn't lose her pout and stayed tense.

"I love you, Ty. I'm sorry," Azula said. Ty Lee forgave her partner and gave her a sweet, slow kiss.

"I love you, too," she muttered, nuzzling into Azula's

* * *

The group of friends were just finishing setting up tents when Zuko arrived. He parked his car and slowly approached the site.

"Um, hi, Zuko here," he mumbled to group. Immediately, Katara whipped away from her conversation with Toph to the tall senior. She stomped over to him, trying to give her most menacing look.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Katara almost screamed. Zuko backed up a little, realizing he was stupid to think this was a good idea.

"I-I was invited," he stammered, heart pounding and face flushing. Confusion and rage occupied Katara's face. She thought back to her conversation with Aang about her childhood bully. Her head jerked towards the freshman.

"Aang, I told you I didn't want you to invite him! Why would you do this?" she questioned. Aang swallowed the lump forming in his throat and stepped towards Katara.

"I thought you guys could maybe make amends or something..." Aang rationalized, looking at his feet to avoid Katara's anger and Zuko's hurt, "I, uh, I don't know what I thought was going to happen." No one spoke for a moment, a stagnant, awkward air surrounding them.

Toph broke the silence, saying, "This is really awkward. C'mon Sokka, we are gonna go for a hike." She grabbed the junior's arm and tugged him towards the rocks.

"Wait up," Suki shouted, following after them. An annoyed frown fell on Toph's face but she waited for the girl anyways. The trio went off, leaving Aang, Katara and Zuko to work out their tensions.

"Look, Katara, I know that you don't think all that highly of me-" Zuko started. Katara released an aggressive, brief snort of a laugh.

"That's the understatement of a lifetime," she growled.

Despite this, Zuko went on, "But Aang is right, I want to make things right. I was a shitty person when we were young. And I'm going to make it up to you. I'm not that guy who bullied you anymore, I promise," Zuko offered with a genuine tone. Katara was still upset but his apology kept her from making any snide remarks.

"Alright, I'll give you a chance. You can stay," Katara /br / Toph, Sokka, and Suki came back to see a campfire being set up. Zuko and Aang seemed to be enjoying themselves but Katara's face still held distrust. The day passed by quickly and everything had calmed down. After dinner, the teens sat around the campfire.

"We should play confessions," suggested Sokka. Everyone agreed and Sokka kicked the game off.

"Okay. The question is," he paused, as if to build up anticipation, "Who's your crush?" Aang froze up, releasing he was to go right after Sokka. As Sokka said Suki's name with a wink, he tried his best to come up with something.

"No one," he yelled quickly. Sokka groaned, shoving at Aang's arm. "Everyone has a crush, dude. Tell us!" demanded Sokka. Aang felt heat rise to his cheeks.

"It's uh-ha, uh," he stammered, completely lost, until he thought of something that wouldn't cause any suspicions, "this girl from Northwater High School. I met her at the away game." Aang felt relief fall over him as he dodged Sokka's question. He relaxed into his seat.

"What does she look like?" Katara asked. Aang's calm was gone and he shot up at the question.

"Well, she's," Aang stopped, looking at Katara, amazed as always at her beauty, "beautiful. She's got long, wavy hair and the most amazing, deep blue eyes I've ever seen. She's really nice and funny and passionate. Her name is Ka-, uh, Katrina." Toph laughed heartily, seeing through Aang's lie.

"This girl sure sounds like Katara," she commented, still chuckling. Aang glared at Toph before remembering it was in vain because she couldn't see the expression.

"So then, who's your crush, Toph?" asked Aang, turning the tables on the girl. Toph's entire body went red, her laughter stopping and heart thumping erratically.

"That's none of your business!" she hollered, causing everyone to look at her with perplexed expressions, "This game is stupid! I'm going to my tent!" She began to stomp off.

"Toph, wait!" Katara called, following after the blind teen in hopes to calm her down. Aang felt guilt creep up in his throat.

"I guess I'll just go to my tent, too. I-uh, goodnight," Aang mumbled and headed towards his tent. He laid down atop of his sleeping bag, waiting for Katara come in.

"I got Toph calmed down. I don't know what set her off so much. Maybe she has crush on you," she stated nonchalantly. A confused expression crossed Aang's face.

"No, no trust me. I'm not the one Toph has a crush on," he responded with a chuckle. Katara stared at him with curiosity.

"Do you know who it is, then?" pondered Katara. Aang felt the remorse of earlier and decided not to rat his friend out.

"Oh, no. It's just not me, that's all," he responded quickly. Katara's eyebrows furrowed but she nodded and maneuvered herself into her sleeping bag.

"So, do you think you're going to go homecoming?" she asked. Aang blushed. He had been thinking about homecoming a lot, specifically who he wanted to take. In fact, he already had a plan for asking Katara.

"Maybe, if everything goes as planned," answered Aang in a slightly flirty manner. Katara sighed and turned her gaze to the top of the tent.

"I hope that it all works out for you. I'm not going cause I'm pretty sure no one will ask me," she groaned out. Aang was shocked that a girl like Katara could ever even have to worry about getting a date.

"Well, you never know what could happen. I'm sure someone is dying to ask you," he proposed, hoping Katara would realize he was that someone. Katara flipped onto her side again, giving a little, gentle smile to her friend.

"That's really sweet of you, Aang," she thanked, placing her hand on Aang's arm. They were so close now and Aang knew he had a chance now to show Katara the crush he had been hiding for years. Aang scooted even closer to her, his breathing getting more hectic. As it seemed more and more likely that he was about to kiss her, Aang's mind was flooded with what could go wrong. It could ruin their friendship, they could break each others' hearts, and a million more possible outcomes plagued his thoughts. Heart pounding with anxiety, he pulled away.

"Well, I should, uh, go to bed now. Goodnight," he rushed, jerking away from Katara, leaving the sophomore dazed. She moved back to facing away from Aang.

"Alright, goodnight, I guess," she mumbled, yanking the zipper on her sleeping bag

* * *

Aang woke up early and quietly exited the tent to not wake Katara. Toph was sitting by herself outside by the extinguished campfire, a grumpy grimace on her face and a thick flannel blanket covering her waist.

"Who's there?" she questioned.

"It's Aang," Aang answered as he took the chair next to her.

"You were kinda being a dickwad last night," she grumbled, tightening her grip on the chair. Aang exhaled, preparing an apology in his head.

"Yeah, I was. I shouldn't of said that. Sorry. Maybe you should tell Sokka you like him, though," he suggested. A look of outrage took over her face. She slugged Aang's shoulder.

"Ugh, shut up. He's obsessed with that _woman_ of his. You honestly think he'd even care?" Toph retorted gruffly.

"He might. Just tell him," reasoned Aang. At this, someone opened their tent door. br / "What are you guys talking about?" Sokka questioned, awkwardly tumbling out of his tent. Suki stepped out after him. Toph's cheeks were beet red.

"Just stuff," Aang answered for his flustered friend. Sokka nodded, not dwelling on the topic. Zuko and Katara were up shortly after the rest of the group. Suki and Sokka made everyone some pancakes, but only Suki's were touched, due to Sokka's inability to cook food that's edible.

Aang felt a bit uncomfortable with Katara throughout the morning. He was regretting his decision to not kiss her last night. The chance had been so present, and Aang had almost grabbed it. He could only pray the chance would arise again.

Homecoming would be his chance.


	3. Homecoming

"I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna ask her," Aang asserted while staring at Katara, trying to amp his confidence up. Toph snorted.

"You've been saying that for a good ten minutes now. If you're 'gonna do it' just do it already," she groaned. Aang turned to her with anxiety, pulling at his hands.

"Should I do it? What if she says no? Oh god, if she says no everything will be weird forever and-" Aang stopped abruptly when Toph clasped her hand over his mouth.  
"Just man up and ask her Twinkletoes! You're annoying me," she forced, shoving him towards his sweetheart.

Aang was filled with nervous excitement. He was convinced that if he was just able to show Katara how he felt, she would realize her feelings for him, too. Katara was talking to Jet, so Aang stood to the side until he moved away. The freshman hated how Jet eyed up his crush. There was something so impure and disgusting in how his eyes seemed to glue to Katara's body, and Aang couldn't stand it. He breathed a happy sigh when Jet left and gathered all his will power for his ask.

"Katara, I really need to say something," Aang stammered, his voice nearly cracking. He could hear his heartbeat rattling around in his ears and his lips felt way too dry and his hands were sweating. Every part of him felt on edge. Katara had a wide smile on her face, which Aang hoped was a good sign.

"Wait, let me tell you something," she interjected, "Jet asked me to homecoming!"

Aang's heart dropped down to his stomach and he felt like he was about to barf it up. He pulled at his clothes, tugging away at a loose thread on his sleeve.

"Did you say yes?" Aang asked weakly, even though Katara's excitement had given it away.

"Of course," she enthused. Aang nodded his head slowly had began to walk away, numb and almost unaware of what he was even doing. Katara felt guilt she couldn't explain and ran after the other teen.

"What did you want to say to me?" she questioned, trying to figure out Aang's actions and her emotions. Aang felt at a loss of what to say. He saw anything he could say as pointless now, he was defeated and melancholy. He glanced quickly over at Toph and an idea brewed in his mind.

"I'm taking Toph to homecoming," Aang shot out. Katara looked surprised.

"Oh. Maybe I could help her get ready or something?" Katara offered with an unsure aura. Aang was now caught in his lie. He kept sending subtle looks to Toph, as if she could solve this.

"I'll ask," he chuckled out, quickly stepping away. Toph looked hopeful as she heard Aang approach.

"Did she say yes, lover boy?" questioned the blind girl. Aang sighed sadly and slammed his head onto the wall. His confidence was shaken and his optimism was fading.

"No, she said yes to Jet," he grumbled, his face still smashed into the wall. Slowly he gave a slight turn towards Toph, "So, I'm guessing you don't have a date?" Toph huffed.

"Wow, really amazing ask there. And no, I don't. Sokka is taking little miss dance squad," she angrily replied. Aang stared over at Katara energetically rambling to Sokka and Suki.

"Oh, yeah. Katara's going to come over and get ready with you," Aang told Toph. The girl released an 'ugh.' "You owe me big time kid," she stated with extreme forcefulness. Aang smiled in relief.

* * *

It was a little over an hour until Aang had to be at Toph's and he was getting his outfit together. Everyone was meeting up at the tough girl's house because Toph's parents had insisted. Although they were shocked their daughter was attending a dance, they were incredibly happy to see her finally acting like a 'young lady.' Toph, on the other hand, was less than keen on the whole situation. Aang decided to call his friend.

"Hey, has Katara gotten there yet?" he pondered. Even through the phone, Aang could feel Toph's annoyance.

"Yes. And Princess has not only threatened to put makeup on me, but is now doing my hair. If she wasn't my friend, trust me, she'd be dead," Toph whined into the phone. Aang frowned, feeling a bit bad for signing Toph up for this.

"Sorry," he muttered with a guilty chuckle, "so, what color is your dress? I'm gonna match my tie."

"How should I know? I'm blind!" Toph answered, "Katara, what color is my dress?" Aang heard a muffled reply.

"Forest green, I guess," she mumbled, "I gotta go get ready." Toph frowned as Katara yanked at another piece of her hair. She was unsure of what the other girl was doing but she assumed it was something involving a curling iron based on the heat she felt near her head.

"Alright, all done!" Katara stated, adjusting some curls around the other teen's shoulders, "Now let's move on to makeup." Toph tossed her head back in exasperation. Katara ignored the girl's protest and just giggled. She sat herself in front of Toph and started applying foundation.

"I know you can't tell, but you are a really beautiful girl," Katara informed. Toph blushed, turning her face away.

"Oh, thanks. I bet you're really pretty, too," she replied awkwardly. The girls were quiet for a second, enjoying their bonding moment. Katara worked on Toph's face, drawing on eyeliner here and powdering on blush there. After a while, the tan girl pulled away with a grin.

"You look incredible, Toph," Katara said, grabbing her dress and Toph's. Katara had already done her hair up in a top knot and had a few locks falling around her face. Katara's dress was light blue, poofy and stopped a bit above her knees. Toph's dress was much longer and fell at her ankles. They put their outfits on and awaited their dates.

* * *

Aang was not all that thrilled about his night. He knew that Toph would be fun and the music would be enjoyable and the gym would look nice but it meant nothing without Katara as his date. He looked at himself in the mirror again, hoping his tie would match well enough with Toph's dress. Even though Aang knew he wasn't the guy Toph wanted to go with, he wanted to at least try to make the night entertaining for her. He didn't understand why Katara couldn't have told Jet no or Sokka couldn't just break up with Suki and let Toph fall into his arms. Well, he did understand, he thought. Sokka loved Suki and Katara didn't even know Aang had a crush on her. So Aang could say he understood, he just didn't want it to be true. He heard a honk outside his house and walked out the door.

Sokka's SUV sat on the curb, a smiley Sokka nearly bouncing in the front seat. His hair was loose instead of his typical 'wolf tail.'

"You excited Aang? It's homecoming!" he cheered. Aang gave a slight smile and hoped in the back of the car. Suki was shotgun, wearing a corsage that must have cost Sokka a lot of money. When they arrived at Toph's house, Jet pulled up next to them. He swaggered out of his car, a rude arrogance about him.

"Hey dudes," he eased, flipping his hair out of his eyes. Sokka and Aang shared a look of disgust. They both were at a loss on what Katara saw in the bad boy. They barely acknowledged him as they approached the door. Almost instantaneously after Aang had knocked on the door, it came bursting open. Toph's mother and father were wearing matching grins and seemed positively exhilarated by the fact that their daughter's friends were there.

"Hello! Please, come in," bustled Mrs. Beifong, grabbing Aang and Sokka's arms and pulling them into the room. Sokka, Suki, and Jet walked off into the house while Aang was held back by the Beifongs.

"So Aang, are you and Toph dating?" asked Mr. Beifong. Aang paled.

"Uh, no we're-" he attempted to explain before Mrs. Beifong's loud voice chimed in.

"Why not? Toph is such a lovely girl. I know she can be rough and mean and inappropriate and-" she was cut off by a voice from the top of the stairs.

"That's enough, Mom, thanks," Toph growled. Aang's attention was directed to the stairs. He was sure Toph looked amazing but he had to admit his eyes went to Katara. The sophomore radiated loveliness. Katara was the type of person who's personality beamed out into her appearance and accented her already blatant beauty.

"Wow," Sokka and Aang breathed out in unison. Aang stared over at his friends, realizing his eyes were on Toph. They glanced at each other, a mutual embarrassment of being caught admiring girls other than their own dates, and turned away from each other. Toph and Katara entered down into the room and Katara walked over to compliment Suki while Toph stumbled awkwardly in her heels to Aang.

"I feel ridiculous," she mumbled, fidgeting around and pulling at the shimmery material on her body.

"You look really nice, don't worry," reassured Aang. Toph groaned.

"Dresses are dumb," she mumbled as her parents brought everyone together for a picture. Aang looked in Katara's direction and grimaced at Jet's firm hand on her waist. He shook away his anger and mustered a smile. After what seemed like a million pictures, the gang finally was able to head to the dance.

* * *

The gym had been decorated by the cheerleaders and it was obvious that Ty Lee had taken over. The dance area was filled with streamers and the entrance was so filled with balloons Aang could barely get into the room. The colors of the dance were an almost neon yellow and black. The room was already nearly full when the group of friends arrived.

"It looks, uh," Suki stopped, not wanting to be rude, "very bright." Sokka gave a slight chuckle.

"Be glad you can't see this, Toph," whispered Aang, causing Toph to chortle as she moved further into the gym.

"Hey babe, I'm gonna go . . . get some punch," Jet stated deviously.

"Oh, okay. Get me some, too," Katara responded with suspicion. With that, Jet left for the punch bowl.

* * *

Ty Lee and Azula had each dragged meathead football players to the dance, trying not to let show how much they would rather have taken each other. Azula gave an annoyed glance at her brother and Mai lurking by the food table, a grungy air surrounding them. Mai had no time for Azula now that the older girl had enrolled in college and the fiery sophomore was bitter. Anger in her step, she strode up to couple.

"Hello Zuko," Azula said snidely, turning her head sharply towards Mai, "Mai. You're looking dreary as always." Mai rolled her eyes, feeling completely over Azula's childish antics.  
"Nice to see you, too, Azula. Did you just come over here to insult me or do you have a purpose?" Mai retorted quickly. Azula tossed her head away from the pair indignantly.

"No. But pointing out your bad style is a purpose within itself," she shot out, sparing one last look to the pair, "Zuzu." She stomped back to her date, Chan, punching his arm too harshly when she caught his eyes on Ty Lee's ass.

* * *

"That punch is-" Suki started, hiccuping and laughing, "great. Like, really great." She had been frequenting the food table and Sokka had noticed it had had an odd effect on her. He sat his girlfriend down carefully at their table.

"Suki, are you sure your okay?" Sokka questioned worriedly. Katara broke away from dancing with Jet to attend to the girl.

"Yeah. You're acting really weird," she said, placing her hand on Suki's forehead to check her temperature. The junior was not overly warm. A sick, anxious look crossed Suki's face.

"Oh my God, I'm gonna throw up," she mumbled, rushing off to the bathroom. Sokka ran to follow after.

"I think someone has been hitting the punch too hard," eased Jet, gaining shocked expressions from the rest of his group. "Jet, did you spike the punch?" questioned Katara with intensity. Jet chuckled, slipping his arm's around his date's shoulders.

"Yeah, so?" he confirmed. Katara wriggled out of his grasp. She shoved him away.

"Why would you do that?" Katara yelled, causing some dancers near to them to stare, "Never mind, I don't wanna hear it. Just leave me alone." Jet stood puzzled and Katara stepped closer to him.

"Get out, Jet," she said with venom in her voice. Jet looked hurt for a second but then shrugged it off.

"Fine. Fine. I'm sure there are tons of girls who'd love to come to this dance with me, you tight-ass bitch," he retorted. Aang shot up from his seat faster than he knew was possible, ready to tackle Jet.

"Don't say that to her!" he hollered. There was nearly a crowd around them by now. Some teachers began to come over to investigate the situation. Feeling fed up and having said his piece, Jet sighed and left the dance without a fight. Katara kept her stone expression until Jet completely disappeared from the gym, then collapsing onto a chair and tossing her head into her hands.

"I can't believe I went with him. Why would I even like him?" she muttered into her palms. Toph and Aang moved closer to her, Aang placing his hands on her shoulders. Sokka returned without Suki.

"Suki went home, she was too sick to stay," Sokka's eyes then fell to his distraught sister, "Katara, what's wrong?" Katara removed her head from her hands slowly, sadly.

"Jet was a big douche. But he's gone now, so that's good, I guess," she mumbled. Sokka immediately went on the defensive. He puffed out his chest.

"I swear to God, I'll kill him. Where is he?" Sokka growled. Katara released a sad chuckle.

"No, no, it's fine, I'm just... I'm gonna go outside for a moment," she stated, standing and rushing towards the door. Sokka began to follow after but Aang motioned for him to stay and went to find the sophomore. Sokka accepted and sat himself next to Toph. Aang saw Katara against a brick wall, her head hung.

"Katara?" he said quietly to alert her of his presence. She looked up, her eyes locking on his.

"I'm so dumb," Katara shot out. Aang moved closer to her, worry hitting hard on his heart.

"No, you're not. Jet's just an ass," he offered. Katara sighed, breaking her stare.

"I knew he was an ass when he asked me. But, I had this spark of hope that if he hung out with us, he would suddenly change. I always think I can change people, Aang. But I guess I can't," she said with utter defeat. Aang was breaking at seeing Katara losing her faith in change because of some jerk who wasn't even worthy to bask in the light of Katara's energy. Aang would not let the most important person in his life lose that.

"Don't let Jet ruin your night. People can change, he just wasn't ready yet," Aang paused, building up courage to ask what he was thinking, "Do you want to dance with me?" Katara's face filled with confusion and happiness.

"Really? What about Toph?" she asked.

"Toph can dance with Sokka. C'mon," Aang answered, grabbing her hand and taking her back into the gym. Confirming his assumptions, Aang saw that Sokka and Toph were on the dance floor together.

"See? I told you," he said as he guided Katara to the dance floor. There was a slow song playing, which Aang admitted made him nervous. But, he powered through it and placed his hands around Katara's waist. She smiled in a giggly way at the hands and let her arms fall around Aang's neck.

"I should have gone with you," she nearly whispered as she moved in closer. Aang blushed, not answering because he wasn't sure if he was supposed to have heard that. Instead, he tightened his grip on Katara's waist and swayed to the romantic music. He could let go of the fact that Katara wasn't his date and his anger at Jet for this moment.

* * *

"You're a great dancer, Toph," Sokka said as he gently spun the blind girl around. Toph was blushing, she had been since the junior took her hand.

"Oh, yea, thanks. You should see with someone who doesn't have two left feet," she jabbed playfully.

"Oh shut up, I'm perfect," Sokka laughed, "So why'd you come with Aang? Do you like him or something?" Toph chuckled and punched him in the chest jokingly.

"Bleech, gross. Aang is just the least barf worthy dude at this school," she explained. Sokka let out a hurt gasp as he dipped Toph. The girl's black curls bounced with her as she was pulled back up.

"What about me? I'm 'barf worthy'?" he questioned in a teasing way. Toph blushed.

"Y-you're the barfiest," she stuttered, trying to cover her anxiety about being found out. Sokka seemed to not be fazed by the nervousness and continued to waltz the younger student around the dance floor. They were quiet for a few moments, until Sokka piped up again.

"You know, you clean up pretty well," he stated. Toph flushed once again.

"It's funny, I put on a dress and suddenly people think I'm pretty," she grumbled, almost sounding hurt.

"Nah, you're always pretty, Toph," Sokka reassured nonchalantly. Toph nearly froze, her heart rocketing. She thought back to Aang's advice, that she should just admit her feelings. Begging her chest to stop pounding and her lungs to start working again, Toph began to speak.

"Sokka, I-" she stopped as the shrill sound of microphone feedback vibrated around the gym. Ty Lee stood on the stage with an envelope as Toph's resolve zoomed away.

"Alright everyone, it's time to announce homecoming king and queen!" hollered Ty Lee. Sokka glanced back to Toph, desperately wanting to know what the rest of her sentence of was. He forced himself to look at Ty Lee and not the girl next to him.

"Alright, big drum roll for our king please!" she requested, opening her envelope. "Your king for homecoming 2015 is," she paused, looking confused, but worked her face into an uncomfortable smile, "Zuko." Mutters of 'Did he even run?' and 'That emo kid?' were heard spreading through the gym. Zuko froze up, giving a nervous look to Mai. She had a tiny, amused smile and shrugged, pushing him towards the stage. Zuko paced up to the stage and allowed Ty Lee to put the cheap, plastic crown on his head. He stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to do. Some forced claps rang out. Zuko back stepped away and tried to hide his face away with his hair. Mai was still giggling-she loved to see her boyfriend uncomfortable-as she saw Azula approach.

"Nice job," the college girl praised. Azula smiled, although it seemed to hold something darker. "And our queen is Jin," announced Ty Lee. A loud 'yes!' rang out and crowd of girls congratulated Jin as she bounced her way on to the stage. Mai's giggles had been halted and Azula's grin expanded.

"Jin? Seriously? As in Zuko's ex girlfriend, Jin?" Mai snarled. Azula did not waver to Mai's tone, simply nodding.

"I always thought she was a better match for him, anyways," she shot out, quite pleased with her revenge.

"You're such a bitch," retorted Mai, leaving for her table. Azula felt a disappointment that her scheme hadn't effected Mai as much as she had been hoping but was still happy that she could upset the girl even a little. Proud, she moved to watch the king and queen dance.

* * *

"I've missed you Zuko," Jin murmured, her head on his chest. Zuko hoped the art student wouldn't notice his heart beating at a lightning speed. He hadn't spotted Mai yet but knew there would be hell to pay when the girl saw the way Jin and him were dancing.

"Jin, I, uh, I'm dating Mai again," stated Zuko. Jin's joy fell and pulled away just the slightest, but kept swaying.

"Oh. I'm happy for you," she mumbled, although it sounded like she was disheartened. Zuko felt a harsh tug on his shoulder and he was pulled away from his dancing partner. Mai stepped in between them.

"May I cut in?" she asked. Jin looked shocked.

"But, the queen and king always dance together," she reminded. Mai shot her a look of disdain.

"I don't care," the angsty girl answered as she grabbed Zuko and led him away from his ex.

"Mai, I swear I didn't plan that," Zuko fumbled out, his anxiety present in his pitch.

"I know. Your sister is just crazy," Mai responded, slipping herself into his arms. Zuko relaxed, glad his dance with Jin didn't invoke his girlfriend's silent treatment.

* * *

After the announcement of the king and queen, the dance slowed down and everyone began to file out. Sokka gathered his party and herded them into his car. Aang and Katara could barely keep their eyes off each other. They had been dancing all night long, Aang had been making his attempts at flirting, and Katara had been loving it. Toph had taken Suki's spot in the front of the car and left the flushed cheeked pair with each other.

"I-I was glad I could kinda step in as your date," Aang stated. Katara smiled and looked down to hide her blush.

"It was really nice," she mumbled. Her hand sat on the seat between them, and Aang slid his closer. Their fingers grazed, but neither moved away.

"Here's your stop, Toph," Sokka informed. Toph unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Thanks for the ride. And it was actually pretty fun dancing with you, by the way," she rushed the last part and was out of the car before Sokka could even say he had more fun than he'd ever had at a school dance. He stared at her empty seat for a second, lost words on the tip of his tongue, but turned back after a moment.

"So, uh, your house now Aang?" Sokka asked. Aang nodded and the older boy turned his car in the right direction.

"I'll walk him to the door," Katara offered in front of Aang's house. She opened her door and stayed close as she escorted the freshman to his house. Aang reached for his keys but Katara stopped him, her hand gently resting on his.

"I had a great time tonight. And hopefully next dance, you'll be my date from the start," she said, genuinely. They stood there for a moment. Aang felt like he should say something, but had no idea what it was. Katara looked tense, albeit bubbly. She rocked on her feet until finally moving forward towards Aang. She brought her lips to his cheek and kissed it. It was quick but Aang still felt like he was flying and couldn't bring himself back to earth. He felt Katara's fast breath and a second later, the sophomore was running back to the van. Just before she hopped into the passenger seat, she curved her body back to the house and smiled her delightful, sunshine-filled smile.

Aang placed his hand over the bubblegum pink mark on his face and inhaled sharply.

"I love that girl," he muttered, entering his house and silently rejoicing.


	4. Halloween

"I like your costume, Aang. Are you a bunny?" Katara wondered. Aang groaned.

"I'm a bison! Is it really that hard to figure it out?" he hollered. Katara threw her hands up in surrender, giggling.

It was Halloween night and Aang had showed up at Katara's house to help set up for her and Sokka's party. The siblings invited everyone they knew and about fifty had promised to be there that night. Aang himself was already in costume, a fluffy one piece ensemble. Katara headed up stairs to put on her outfit.

Aang and Katara were been in a weird place regarding their relationship. Aang had assumed that after homecoming, things would change between them. He guessed things had changed in the sense that Katara acted kind of uncomfortable all the time around him. If anything, Aang longed for the time when they were just friends. It felt so much easier then.

"Alright, I'm done!" Katara announced as she stepped out of her room. Her hair fell gracefully over her shoulder in a side braid. Her dress clung to her figure in just the right spots, her curves accented and her skin nearly glowing in the light blue fabric,

"Do I look enough like Elsa?" Aang nodded yes and stepped closer to her.

"You look gorgeous," he murmured. Aang was eye level with Katara now, he had finally caught up with her in height this year. Katara held a questioning look on her face, unsure what she wanted with the younger boy.

"The cheek kiss-"

"Katara, I-" They spoke over each other, fumbling through their words. They both waited for the other to speak out of politeness and anxiety. Before either could start up again, the door bell rang.

"I'll get it," Katara stated in rush, quickly hurrying away. Aang groaned, slamming his forehead on the door to Katara's room. He wanted her so badly. He wanted her laugh in his ears every day. He wanted her gentle smile washing over him while they cuddled. He wanted her tan, soft, warm skin pressed upon his in the dark. He wanted her love and passion and fire. But Katara seemed trained on avoiding his advances. Aang heard the conversation of Toph and Katara muffled through the walls and knew their moment was gone. He wasn't sure it had even existed. He stepped out of the hallway sadly.

"Hey Twinkletoes. Like my costume?" Toph asked. Aang was confused, Toph was dressed in her average tee shirt and jeans.

"What are you?" he questioned.

"I'm a psychopath. They look just like normal people," the blind girl said, trying to sound as spooky as possible, "So, who's coming tonight?"

"Some of cheer, my swim team, pretty much all my friends. A bunch of Sokka's, too. And Zuko," Katara listed, forcing the last name angrily.

"Still caught up on playground problems, Princess?" accused Toph. Katara huffed and began to prepare her response as the doorbell rang. She turned pointedly and opened the door.

"Speak of the devil," she muttered as she opened the door. Zuko stood on the other side, outfitted in the cheesiest, cheapest vampire costume to ever be seen.

"Hey," he said, although it was distorted due to his plastic fangs, "I like your Gizmo costume, Aang."

"Bison! It's a bison!" the freshman angrily corrected.

"There's some food in the kitchen if you want to help me set it out," Katara mentioned, her eyes barely meeting Zuko's. The long standing tension was quite obvious as the senior followed the younger teen into the other room. Quite abruptly, Katara shoved a platter of hot dogs wrapped to resemble mummies into Zuko's hands.

"Katara, what's the problem here?" he questioned. Katara had her back to Zuko as her grip tightened on another tray. Slowly, she relaxed her fingers and turned to him.

"We're fine," Katara stated.

"That's not true," Zuko argued, anger crossing his face, "I'm trying my best to make up for elementary school, but it seems like you have your heart set on hating me. I don't get it." He was on the brim of seething. Katara felt embarrassed but her pride kept her from just accepting the senior's apology. She picked up a veggie tray and began to move in to the living room.

"Honestly Zuko, I want to be your friend, I want to trust you but I can't. I can't get over elementary school," Katara explained before exiting the room. Zuko frowned, at a loss on how to win over the girl.

* * *

"So anyways, I think she likes me but I'm not sure so what do you think?" Aang finished after an endless speech about his Katara situation. Toph's head was resting lazily on her palm, positively worked over.

"Look kid, I'm here for you and all, but I don't know. Ask her out, I guess?" she suggested weakly. Aang sighed with guilt, realizing how self centered of a friend he had been lately.

"So what's going on with you these days?" he asked, hoping to amend his fault. Toph's mouth twitched up just slightly at the corner.

"I'm failing Algebra but you already know that. And there's this guy who sits next to me in Biology, Duke, he's pretty cool," Toph informed, cheeks reddening as she mentioned her lab partner. Aang smirked, amused as always at his friend having romantic feelings.

"So, are you moving on from you-know-who?" he wondered. Toph shrugged.

"I guess I'm on my way. Speaking of Snoozles, where is he? It's twenty minutes into his party, and the dork isn't even here," she stated. Aang looked around the kitchen, as if Sokka would suddenly appear to him. The crowd was big, but the ponytailed junior didn't seem to be in it.

"I'm gonna go find him," said Toph, heading out of the room. She fumbled through the other teens, frequently bumping into them. She ignored the groans of annoyance and yells of 'watch it' in her direction, focused on her objective. Toph went towards the food table, crashing into a tall track boy and spilling his drink on his Spider-Man costume.

"Watch out, you dumb bitch!"he yelled, shoving Toph's shoulder. The blind girl felt anger steaming out of her. Before her verbal assault could fire out, Zuko spoke up. She turned to the voice behind her.

"What'd you call her?" he asked lowly. Toph appreciated that Zuko would stand up for her, but aggravated he was interrupting her pummeling this jock.

"I got this handled," she insisted. The senior shook his head.

"No," he said, turning his attention to the superhero clad teen, "You can't talk to her like that." The boy scoffed.

"Why? Cause she's blind? That doesn't give her the excuse to crash into me. My costume is all messed up now because this girl is disabled," shouted the track boy.

"Disabled? Are you fu-" Toph screamed.

"I think you should leave," Zuko stated lowly. Katara was by his side now, joining the force against the bully.

"Yeah Luke, leave," she forced, "No one talks to my friends that way." Luke slamed his cup down on the food table and left the house. Katara let her eyes go to Zuko's face.

"That was very nice of you," she said sweetly. Toph gave Zuko a small nod and 'thanks' and went back to looking for Sokka.

"I-" Katara tried, biting on her lip and looking away, "I'm sorry I didn't forgive you. You're not a bully anymore and I see that." Zuko was surprised at her apology, knowing she was always one to stand her ground to the very end.

"Friends?" he suggested, offering his hand to Katara. She gave a quick glance at the gesture before bounding into a hug instead.

"Of course," Katara muttered into his shoulder. Across the room, Aang observed the hug with worry brewing in his heart.

* * *

Toph was confused where Sokka was, but tried to hide her desire for him to be there. It was as if she was even trying to prove to herself she was over the junior, but in her heart, Toph knew she was in too deep with Sokka for a boy who flirts with her sometimes to break her from her crush. Someone pushed past her, and with one touch of skin, it was undeniable who.

"Sokka?" she called. "Yeah," he mumbled back. Toph noticed the tone was sad, lost, and hoarse.

"Are you okay?" she asked, hearing Sokka's breathing thicken.

"I-uh," stumbled Sokka before grabbing hold of Toph's hand and leading her into his room. Toph sat herself down on the tan teen's bed, taking in the smell of the area, same smell as Sokka, heavy, warm, and inviting.

"It's Suki," he explained. Toph sighed, expecting to hear some plan for a romantic night or a story that Sokka thinks is just so cute. She didn't expect what he said next, "I think we are over." Toph felt a guilty joy upon hearing this news. Any progress with moving on was destroyed by that sentence. She didn't respond for a moment, and Sokka took her silence as a sign to continue.

"She's moving. She got a scholarship for a dance high school. And I don't know what to do because I love her and all but I don't know if I can do the barely seeing her. You're my best friend, what do I do?" he expanded on his previous statement. Toph's anger bubbled up inside her and she tried to push it down but it persisted. Although she didn't feel in control of her actions, she spoke.

"I can't do this, Sokka. I can't be your best friend if that means talking about Suki. Sorry if that makes me a bad person. But I can't do it, because I fucking have a crush on you, okay?" Toph blurted, not realizing the secret she had revealed until after it was out and everything was tried to muster a response but was stopped.

Warm lips were pounding onto her's and Sokka's buff but gentle arms were around her waist. He didn't taste like roughness like Toph had imagined. He was sweet and her heart needed his flavor. Sokka pulled away.

"Sorry. I needed to do that," he said. Toph didn't care about his apology and was back on his lips in a second. There was a moment of fumbling because the blind girl couldn't see where she was aiming for, but Sokka adjusted for it. He held her tight, as if the idea of letting go was hell, and it almost was. Their kisses were sloppy because of a great desperation to have each other and lack of practice on Toph's part. Just as Toph had slipped her tongue into Sokka's mouth, a knock was heard at the door and although neither party wished to part, Sokka pulled away.

Aang stood on the other side of the door. The junior flushed red, giving himself a quick once over. His black long sleeve had come untucked from his pants but other than that, the kissing was unnoticed.

"Katara's looking for you," Aang stopped, analyzing Sokka's outfit, "Are you supposed to be Ron Stoppable?" The other teen gave a brief nod.

"Where's Kim?"Aang wondered. An angry glare crossed Sokka's face.

"Kim is going to a dance school," he seethed under his breath. Aang raised an eye brow.

"I'll go talk to Katara in a bit, thanks," he said, "I like your sheep costume, by the way." Aang gave an eye roll.

"Bison," he groaned before shutting the door. Sokka brought his attention back to the freshman on his bed.

"I-uh, Toph, I thought that was great. But I don't even know what's gonna happen with me and Suki. I'm really sorry, I acted too quick. Can we just put this on hold for a bit?" Sokka asked, but Toph didn't seem perceptive to the idea, "God, I'm so sorry. I can't lose you as a friend, please." Toph had an anxious sickness filling up her body and tears imminent in her eyes. She gathered herself.

"Just fuck off," she said in a hushed tone as she tried to leave, but Sokka grabbed her arm, a begging look in his eyes, "We are done." The freshman shook him off and bolted out of the room. She ran towards the door and was out of the house before she let herself break.

Toph let big, fat tears fall and her body shook from the intense release of emotion. She heard footsteps but was too caught up in what she was feeling to stop herself.

"Toph? What's wrong?" a sweet, comforting voice asked.

"Nothing. I'm fine. Just go away, okay?" Toph yelled. Aang didn't budge, instead sitting next to his friend.

"Sokka?" he prodded. Toph nodded, the flow of her tears becoming more rapid. She would have been embarrassed and angry if anyone else saw her like this, but Aang was as close as a brother and she trusted him just as much as one. She laid her head on Aang's chest and he moved his arms to hold her. There they sat, amongst the bushes in the front lawn, with a love and understanding between them. Aang stayed next to Toph until her dad came before going back to the party.

Sokka came in to the living room, distraught.

"Aang, where'd she go?" he questioned, knowing Aang would know who he meant.

"She went home. She's really upset, I think you really hurt her," Aang informed, a slight anger apparent in his voice. Sokka sighed with regret, bringing his palm to his face.

"Fuck, I really messed up didn't I? Hey, if you see her… please... please tell her I'm really sorry," he begged. Aang heard the genuine remorse in the older boy's tone and his anger left him.

"It's okay. I'm sure it will be okay," he reassured.

"I'm gonna just go to my room. I don't think I'm really in the party mood," Sokka said, giving a weak smile and patting Aang's shoulder. Aang had anxiety on what this could mean for his friend group but shook it off.

* * *

He looked for Katara and spotted her with Zuko on the couch. Zuko's hand was on the sophomore's shoulder and she was grinning that grin that stops hearts. Aang held himself back from stepping towards the pair. He knew in his head it was only friendly but seeing Katara so close to Zuko reminded him how out of his league she was. She was the type of girl who goes for guys like Zuko and Jet. She deserves someone tough and tall and handsome. And to Aang, he was none of that.

Disappointed but resolved, he approached Katara. She smiled but her grin faded as she saw Aang's reluctance to smile back.

"Just forget about the cheek kiss. I know you were just being nice," he mumbled to the floor, shuffling his feet around. Katara frowned.

"Aang, that's not true. I just . . ." she trailed off. Aang sighed, Katara's lack of an explanation being the final nail in the coffin for his hopes for his crush.

"Katara, it's fine. You don't see me like that, I get it," he stated before turning away from the girl he had loved for five years.


End file.
